A Beginning at the End
by Milli Moi
Summary: What if baby Aaron had made it? if he had survived long enough to be born. If the first child to no longer live in fear belonged to the golden trio themselves.
1. Chapter 1

Hermione could see the boys from the bedroom window, see them sitting on the grass in the small garden behind the cottage. Ron sat with his head in his hands, he looked totally despairing. He would soon be worse she thought when he knew the rest.

She watched as Fleur entered the scene, touched Ron's shoulder gently. She couldn't hear the conversation but could tell Harry wondered why he wasn't permitted to follow his best friend into the cottage.

The truth was that although the evidence had been under Harry's nose for so long she felt Ron had to know first. Fleur had caught on straight away, she had seen the panic on Hermione's face and had understood there was more to the hushed 'I'm bleeding' than the usual explanation.

Hermione knew, knew she should have told Ron earlier but she hadn't been sure, not totally and then when the time came to tell him the blasted Horcrux had taken him away from them. She hadn't expected it to progress, hadn't expected to get to this point. She had no idea why she had thought so, she was young and healthy, and it wasn't as though biology understood 'now is not a good time'.

She should never have presumed that because her mother had struggled to conceive that she too would have difficulties. She had wanted it to be real, for their first time together to be as pure as possible. She wanted to feel it all as it was meant to be.

That, she didn't regret, the feeling of being so close to Ron, to feel his warm breathe against her neck, his hands hot across her cool skin, the softness of his lips. She remembered pulling him down to her as they both panted, the ginger hair on his face slapped against his forehead and his freckles illuminated in his red cheeks. It had been so innocent; they would never be innocent again.

"Hermione?" Ron's voice snapped her away from her thoughts. He seemed to cross the room in an instance and kneel beside her bed. His hand reached out but he didn't seem to know what to do with it, eventually letting it awkwardly return to his side.

"I think you may want to get used to 'olding 'er 'and, Ronald." Fleur snapped at him before twisting on the so her hair flew out behind her, and exiting the room.

Ron looked so worried, and now confusion added to his expression. Hermione felt herself tearing up. This was so overdue.

Her eyes met the patchwork knitted quilt on the bed, she studied the weave of the stitches. She couldn't look at him, but her dry mouth somehow manages to utter the words.

"I'm going to have a baby."

Ron blinked, his jaw slackening in shock. He remained expressionless, not happy, not angry, not anything. Eventually he spoke.

"you mean, like a baby-baby?"

Hermione felt herself relax a little, thank goodness.

"Yes, I'm pregnant Ron. If, if they make it-,"

He cut her off mid thought,

"You mean back then, back at the wedding." He paused, the colour beginning to drain from his face as realisation hit him. Hermione nodded, tears flooding her eyes again.

"I'm bleeding Ron, since the attack." She couldn't help but slip into the tears, allow the words to fly from her mind into the open air. She drew her eyes up, forcing them to look, to see how the father of this baby was feeling., To her astonishment she didn't see relief in his eyes as she had stupidly thought she might. She knew him better than that, but still doubt had tried to convince her otherwise. Ron sniffed loudly, drawing his wand from his pocket. He swallowed, roughly wiped the tears from his eyes with the back of his hand, ducking his head as though pretending he wasn't crying at all.

"Look, there's only one way to know. I mean, I'm not as good as you so it might not even work but," He turned his wand to face her and for a second Hermione was confused, what was he going to do, put the little one out of it's misery. She lunged forwards, going to grab his wand hand, beg him to let the little one live but before she could she was met with a spell she hadn't expected.

" _Sonorus"_

The strangest sound filled the air. It sounded as though they had suddenly moved under water, the water whirling through their earbuds with a random swooshing thumping noise repeating quickly through the muffling sound.

Hermione felt herself shudder, a shaky hand went very slowly to her mouth. There was no doubt what the sound was. The strong and continuous beat of a very small heart. A smile began to grow wider and wider on her face. Meeting Ron's eyes his grin was just as broad. He looked beyond happy and affirmed his feelings instantly. He reached forwards quickly but took her cheek in his hand ever so softly and kissed her with so much sincerity she shivered.

It was a long moment before the broke apart, both struggling to catch their breath. He was still grinning. He reached forward again, and, using the slightest touch lifted her t-shirt to place his hand against her stomach.

He looked surprised and she could see him leave cloud nine and come rocketing back to reality.

"I left you – both of you, and you must have known, I mean, you've got a lot bigger since that night."

She could tell he was trying to be polite, she knew she had put on a lot of weight, knew she was lucky that her bump wasn't as large as it could be.

"Ron, I should have told you, I got so caught up in everything that was happening. It wasn't until I started to get really tired that it added up. I was very late, I had misjudged apparition because I hadn't taken him into account. I hurt you because I wasn't paying attention to myself which is far from the way I should have behaved."

One word had stuck in Ron's mind. She could see it on his face, a real lightbulb moment.

She hadn't meant to say the word but there was no way she could have kept it from him for much longer.

"It's a boy?"

"Well, I can't be one hundred percent sure, of course there are variables and the spell was never meant to be taken as proof, just as a bit of fun. You're mum told me that the spell told her you were a girl and everything but-"

"But?"

She sighed, she had been thinking about having a son for a while now, so why shouldn't he.

"But, the likeliness is, yes, he is a boy."

Ron grinned, moving himself off his knees and thumping himself down on the bed beside her, drawing his large arm around her smaller shoulders, drawing her in. She felt better than she had in so long, all her fears seemed to dissolve in the air as she breathed in his scent, curled into his bedraggled t-shirt. Ron kissed the top of her head lightly.

"You're bloody amazing. And he's bloody amazing too."

Hermione had allowed her eyes to shut and so she didn't see him approach, and neither had Ron, the first they were aware of his presence was his voice, and his words.

"Who's amazing, who's he?"


	2. Chapter 2

Hermione knew he was going to take it badly before he had even opened his mouth, except Harry didn't open his mouth, he remained silent. His expression went from stunned to worried, to a look that could only mean he was trying not to think about where the baby had come from.

Ron had stood, his arm around her shoulders as she explained. He looked fiercely protective as though some strange idea of Harry hurting their baby had come to him. His jaw was set in a way that reminded Hermione of two male lions about to fight. She knew better, knew Ron would never hurt his best friend, but he was making it hard for her to remain so sure.

"You'll stay here then, with Bill and Fleur. They'll alert Mrs Weasley, try and work something out."

"What?" the words had exploded from her mouth before she had even realised they might. No way was he going to leave her, abandon her and the baby here, just because it might be dangerous.

"No way mate, I'm not leaving her." Ron spoke with an edge in his voice, a small amount of challenge. Harry shook his head instantly,

"No, that's not what I'm saying, Ron you have to stay, of course you do. I'm not, I won't be responsible for another kid growing up without it's Dad." Ron smirked and Harry looked at him oddly, trying to work out what was funny.

"Seriously Harry," Ron began again, "You think she's going to do that, you think anyone is going to persuade her to stay all cosy and wait?"

"She can speak for herself and she agrees. Harry I'm not going anywhere. As much as you don't want to admit it you need me – you need us. Do you really think you're going to magically get through this big quest on your own, Dumbledore allowed you to tell us everything because he knew we wouldn't leave you, and he knew you couldn't do it on your own?"

Harry's jaw set also, his hands balled into fists and he looked around the room, pleading the paintings on the walls to help him.

"Harry," Hermione found herself speaking once more but she was no longer annoyed at him. Yes, he was always trying to play the hero but he also had a heart, a heart which contained not an ounce of sense or prioritising ability.

"Harry. If all this is meant to happen, then he'll keep fighting. We need to stay together, we can't let the world down for one baby. He has already proved he's pretty strong, proven he can hold on, and if he isn't meant to survive, to be born, then he won't. He will be another sacrifice for the war, but one I know we might have to make."  
Ron squeezed her shoulder and carried on talking,

"She's right Harry, we're a team, and we are the only team who have a chance in hell of winning. You know the things I've told you, the things I've felt and feel. I'm your weak link, but I'm here for them. I'll do anything I can to keep them safe as long as keeping them safe means we win. If I think everything's at an end then I'll drag her kicking and screaming if I have to. We carry on, and we would have even if we didn't know there was an extra passenger, so why not bring him along too. At least now we know he's with us, and I'll do all I can to keep him safe."

The words never left Harry's mouth, but his next comment made his decision clear, he had wilted, even though he was far from happy with the decision.

"So, I mean, when did this happen- not when, I don't want the details. I mean how long," Harry tailed off as though he didn't know quite how to address the situation. Hermione supposed however that he had never been around a pregnant woman, this was very new to him.

"I'm around 24 weeks – six months – pregnant, he'll be here in May."

"Right then," he began, still not sounding very pleased, "We've got a deadline then."


End file.
